Bachelor of Science in Finance
Graduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning (Secondary)
Mathematics Teacher
As a high school maths teacher, Francis has the daily opportunity to combine passions for teaching and numbers in his classes for years 9 to 11 students.
"I see students learn new things every day. And every now and then I get very positive feedback from students about what they’ve learnt in class," he says.
Francis is originally from China and attended high school in New Zealand. He decided on UC for study after receiving a UC International Undergraduate Full Scholarship, towards a Science degree in Finance.
One of his favourite parts of studying at UC was the online resources so he could juggle study with work commitments.
"The lectures were recorded so I could always go back to it and watch the bits I didn’t get. “Learn” is very helpful, I found the materials very useful to prepare for exams."
It was during his Finance studies with UC that Francis was inspired to head into a teaching career, following part-time work as an IELTS teacher.
"That gave me a feeling of what it is like to become a teacher. I quite enjoyed the classes," he says. "During my bachelor’s degree, I took maths papers up to 300-level. That gave me a very strong knowledge of maths so I felt very confident delivering the high school maths curriculum."
Throughout his graduate diploma, Francis also took on work as an insurance agent for a Chinese insurance company, to keep up his financial knowledge.
He then worked as a relief teacher with Rudolf Steiner School, before landing his current role at Pukekohe High School.
"For now I want to get good at explaining abstract maths concepts to students. I want my students to enjoy coming to my classes and feel prepared for exams."
